News

OPPO Reno6 series launches in the Philippines

Published

August 6, 2021

Rodneil Quiteles

We’ve always been… amazed(?) at how fast the OPPO Reno line keeps churning out smartphones. It was only about three to four months ago when we welcomed the Reno5 line and now, the OPPO Reno6 series is coming to our lives.

Indulge us on this quick anecdote. A friend of GadgetMatch recently saw the massive online promotion of the OPPO Reno6 series. Said friend just bought the OPPO Reno4 and wasn’t thrilled about the news. That’s how fast the Reno line launches phones.

But, see, the differences are pretty incremental. If you’re coming from Reno4 or Reno5, you should be fine. If you have something that’s a little older — whether it’s an older Reno or some other brand that launched alongside it — you might be curious what you’re getting with the Reno6 series.

The series comprises two smartphones: The OPPO Reno6 5G and the OPPO Reno6 Z 5G. Let’s start with the series’ namesake.

OPPO Reno6 5G

The OPPO Reno6 5G is an upper midranger whose flatedge design is reminiscent of the iPhone. It’s pretty light at 182g and should be comfortable to hold for most people.

Inside, it’s powered by the MediaTek MT6877 Dimensity 900 5G (6 nm) processor. It has 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and has a 4,300mAh battery with support for SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging 65W.

It has a nifty trick of letting you expand your RAM by up to 5GB. That is, of course, given you have enough storage space available to repurpose those gigabytes. Just search RAM Expansion on the Settings menu to look it up.

For the cameras you have a 64MP wide angle sensor that’s capable of shooting 4K/30fps video or 1080p/30fps and 1080p/60fps video. Flanking the main sensor are the 8MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP macro lens. Up front, there’s a 32MP selfie camera.

It has a 6.4” AMOLED Display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The screen refresh rate goes up to 90Hz.

OPPO Reno6 Z 5G

This one’s a little less specced out but still very much capable. It’s slightly smaller and lighter weighing in at 173g. It has a 6.4” AMOLED display with only a standard 60Hz refresh rate.

It isn’t completely underpowered with its MediaTek MT6853 Dimensity 800U 5G (7 nm) chip which is supported by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The 4,310mAh battery supports 30W fast charging.

The camera setup is pretty similar with a trifecta of 64MP wide, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro lenses. It also shares the same 32MP front-facing camera.

ColorOS goodness

Both smartphones run the Android 11 based ColorOS 11.1. It’s one of the best things about the OPPO smartphones over the last year and a half. ColorOS has made strides to become a lot cleaner and more feature packed.

There’s a slew of customization options like choosing the contrast in Dark Mode, changing the shapes of the icons, and picking your own UI color scheme.

You also get mobile gaming features like the Game Assistant that lets you toggle different between different modes of play. It also gives you control on whether to shut notifications out completely or have them come in discreetly.

You also have the usual filters, beautification, and portrait modes on the camera app like A.I. Color Portrait and the host of new video-centric features.

Price and availability

The OPPO Reno6 5G will be available in Aurora and Stellar Black. It will retail for PhP 26,999. The OPPO Reno6 Z 5G is available in the same colorways but will retail for PhP 19,999.

Both phones will be available in OPPO Concept stores as well as the company’s e-commerce partners Lazada and Shopee.

News

Xiaomi is making it easier for customers in the PH to shop

Xiaomi launches Mi.com online store

Published

May 16, 2026

GadgetMatch

Xiaomi has officially launched its Mi.com online store in the Philippines. This standalone website offers a more direct and centralized shopping experience, as Xiaomi has shifted away from third-party marketplaces.

The dedicated platform serves as a one-stop destination for the entire Xiaomi ecosystem. This includes the brand’s smartphones, smart home devices, and even the POCO lineup.

For instance, there’s the REDMI Note 15 Pro 5G, Xiaomi Smart Band 10, and Xiaomi Sound Party, among others.

The move marks a significant transition for Xiaomi’s consumers in the market. The brand mentioned wanting to deliver a smarter, more rewarding digital shopping experience tailored for Filipino consumers.

Moreover, customers do not have to worry about the presence of discount vouchers or a reward system, as the Mi.com website has these integrated. That way, customers will still find a great value for direct purchases.

Here’s a quick rundown of Xiaomi’s exclusive offers to celebrate the announcement of a standalone site:

Launch-Exclusive Vouchers: 10% off coupons on selected inventory, tiered discounts based on total purchase value
Daily Flash Sales: Two high-traffic windows are scheduled daily from 10:00 AM to 12:00 NN and 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Enhanced Loyalty Rewards: new Xiaomi Account sign-ups receive 50 Mi Points (1 Mi Point = PhP 1); during launch window, all purchases earn double points, which can be redeemed for future cashbacks

Apps

Netflix expands its cheaper ad-supported tier to Southeast Asia

This also includes more countries in Europe and South America.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

If you don’t care about seeing a deluge of ads on your platforms, you’re an incredibly rare breed these days. That same skill will come in handy for those nicely priced subscription tiers that comes with ads. Netflix, for one, has one of those tiers, and it’s now coming out in more countries.

As is prevalent in other platforms today, an ad-supported subscription tier lowers the price you have to pay every month. The catch, however, is that there will be an occasional sprinkling of ads here and there.

Netflix offers this service, which allows subscribers to get the service for cheap at the expense of their time. Currently, it is limited to only a few major markets in the world. However, the platform is expanding the tier’s reach to more countries in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Starting in 2027, Netflix’s ad-supported tier will expand to 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Netflix says that the ad-supported tier is a popular option for subscribers. Currently, the tier has around 250 million subscribers worldwide. Since some of the new countries have a more budget-conscious attitude when it comes to purchasing services, this number will likely go up after the expansion in 2027.

Apps

Google might limit free storage to only 5GB

The change will affect new users.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Google One is a monthly subscription that gives you at least 200GB of cloud storage for your files and photos. For most people, a Google One subscription starts when Google inevitably tells them that their free storage space is running out and will soon stop backing up files. Starting today, new users might get that warning sooner rather than later as Google tests a lower limit to free storage.

Historically, Google offers users 15GB of free storage as a start. However, especially these days, 15GB can run out rapidly, prompting a Google One upgrade. Still, despite how “little” it is, Google’s free storage is generous compared to its contemporaries.

Now, Google is reportedly going to be more at par with the rest. As spotted on Reddit (via 9to5Google), new users will receive only 5GB of free storage. Based on Wayback Machine, the company changed its policy sometime between February to March.

Notably, 15GB is still available as an option, but users have to link their phone numbers to their accounts first.

According to Google, the policy change is meant to encourage users to upgrade their security. However, critics will point out that it just enables the company to collect more data about their users. Of note, the platform is already pushy about linking phone numbers before the change, but this adds another layer to entice people.

Also, Google confirms that the new policy is only a regional test for now. They have not announced when (or if) the change comes out for real.